From a very early age, students develop inclinations toward specific learning styles through various forms of perceived intelligence, as posited by Gardner. It is our job as teachers to be insightful and perceptive, understanding the wide array of concepts that comprise learning styles, and we are frequently without means of formally assessing such styles. Especially at a young age, students may or may not be capable of conveying, in any way, what works or does not work for them in the classroom. It is our job, as a result, to understand exactly what is that works best for these students, through the most apparent means, and to apply these learning styles to the curriculum.
Choice is enormous. Offering a variety of instruction does not come without invariable consequence, but is hugely important to be open. A teacher has means of discovering what choices are or are not necessary through investigation, as well. Choice will always be a vague word, but whether through seeking out student records, talking with parents, other teachers, or the students themselves, we can come to learn a lot with a little. More creative means exist through the graces of classroom allowance, and our ability to set up specialized activities and curricula that cater to our thirst for discovering our students’ truest needs and desires.
Cheyenne
This chapter is all about how you, as a teacher, can describe a student’s most developed intelligences. This will allow a student’s learning in school to take place through their preferred intelligences. However, this being said, it is also important not to “pigeon-hole” a student into one intelligence, this is because most students have strengths in multiple areas. Towards the beginning of the chapter it mentioned keeping a notebook or journal to write down observations of your students’ learning techniques. There is no “megatest”, as the book described it, that provides a comprehensive survey of your students, however a formal test could be useful in determining their intelligences. Many tips were given as means to figuring out a student’s intelligences, they include looking at school records, talking to parents or other teachers, setting up activities, and asking the students. The chapter brought up misbehavior too, and how they could be more of a cry for help than a means of getting attention. Students want to learn in a way that they are comfortable with and they will do so. I need to make sure I fully understand this and need to learn how to tell the difference between a student acting out because they are trying to learn in a way they are comfortable and a student acting out for attention. Keeping a journal was a pretty good tip that I think I will find to be very useful. I don’t want to punish a student who is really just trying to learn in a way they feel more comfortable learning, but I also don’t want my other students distracted by another student’s behavior.
Russell Warren
Similar to the first chapter of Professor Theresa Overall’s assigned book Fires in the Bathroom, the third chapter in this book dropped another ingenious way to better understand the students who make up my classroom. In Fires, it was suggested to allow students some time during the week to accumulate a personal response notebook, which would then allow me as the teacher to look over their strengths and struggles. Thomas Armstrong, in Multiple Intelligences, has suggested the teacher also keep a notebook to jot down small details or occurrences that could possibly aid in their understanding and the differentiation of their classroom. There are thousands of small things that students do that hint, or, in some cases scream, towards their specific multiple intelligences. Misbehavior is certainly the latter, and the concept has changed my way of approaching such situations. Before I understood that there are better ways to alleviate such times, but I never really thought that I could personally gain something position from students acting out. The students are acting out for a reason, saying “This is how I learn, teacher, and if you don’t teach me in a way that I most naturally learn, I’m going to do it anyway,” (p. 34) pleading for focus, attention, and a flexible course structure. Reading Multiple Intelligences, I realize that while I may become a teacher, I’ll never not be a student, and there is always something to learn from not only scholarly sources, but also even unsavory situations within the classroom. I have to look for every possible source for information, including past assessments and colleagues, and never stop learning.
Ashley Libby
This chapter talked about ways to identify what multiple intelligence are the student’s strongest learning trait. It showed ways for teachers to know what each different intelligence might look like and what signs to look for in your students. It told teachers to observe students in not how the behavior regularly but also how the students misbehave; to look for the signs and see what they are trying to tell us non-verbally. Professor Evans told the class to be very mindful of what each student is doing. She used the example of a student using drugs to seek attention so that we, as teachers, could see that they need help and it is our job to listen. This situation works well with observing multiple intelligences because it is all about being mindful of what our students do. Students will tell us how they learn best but sometimes it can be taken as misbehavior and we just dismiss it as a troublesome child.
As a teacher I need to remember not to dismiss every child that seems to not follow the rules. I need to remember to think about why they are actually doing it and the way they go about it. I have to look at the signs and pay attention. Once I have figured out how my students learn, I have to make the adjustments accordingly so that each students gets the most out of my classroom. The chapter gave great ideas about how to identify the student’s intelligences. The author provides the reader with a checklist than can be done with those students that are struggling. This way you can get to the route of the problem quicker and have your students be successful in your classroom.
Ashley Godbout
This chapter shows how to observe and investigate the intelligences. It’s important to develop a sense of what the student’s individual intelligence preference is so that more of their learning can be done through the intelligence they favor. Since there is no magic, universal test to give each student to tell his or her preferred intelligence, simple observation can be done to assess this. The author has an interesting take on observation as he suggests observing how the students misbehave in the classroom. The students are doing this as a cry for help and are trying to tell their teacher “this is how I learn, please teach me this way or naturally I’m going to do it anyways.” Often times teachers get frustrated when students don’t act as they’d like them to but most often then not it’s for a good reason. This lesson has taught me that I need to be more patient when dealing with student interactions like this during class. It’s easy to send them to the office or give a detention but that’s not going to solve the problem. Until the teacher asks the student the reasoning for their actions or has the knowledge to assess why and act upon a possible solution, the student’s behavior will likely not change. Another interesting take is observing what students do in their free time. This is probably most obvious because when given the choice the student will act in ways they normally do. For example, activities like reading, playing games, and social interactions are all things students might automatically do because of their preferred intelligence. As a teacher, it’s important to be aware of ways to observe your students so problems can be addressed and fixed when they arise. It’s also good if a teacher tries a new approach and observes how this could positively affect a student.
Christopher Vogel
Chapter three initiates with the discussion of finding a student’s strongest intelligence and basing the content around that intelligence. The book indicates that it may be easier to identify the strongest intelligence based on how a student misbehaves because it will be a “cry for help” in a manner that they are comfortable with. In addition to misbehavior, the book suggests seeing what students do during free time. From the reading I can see observing the student would be helpful in all areas based on watching what they choose to do. As a teacher I should be watching (in non-stalker manner) the after school activities they join, preferences for assigned homework, etc. The chapter encourages this by looking at grades, talking with other teachers or parents, and looking over the work the students have submitted. I think the biggest impact this chapter has on my classroom is to work on observation skills. This ties in with the theme of the class paying attention to all of our senses. By tailoring our classroom lectures and activities to each student’s favored intelligence, we can better educate different learning styles. I think that some of this observation of students is a little disconcerting. Looking over the checklist I would feel a little uncomfortable if my teacher noticed that I hum occasionally to myself or that I put my hands all over something I have just seen. I guess in terms of setting up the perfect learning environment could be worth it but it seems a little excessive.
Michael Diffin
Reading response multiple intelligences chapter 3
The third chapter in the book Multiple Intelligences discusses a great deal of information relating to how we can find out and use our students multiple advantages to our advantage when developing our units and lessons. This chapter describes how it is possible to take these multiple intelligences and asses them in many ways to find out who learns best which way. The text stresses that there is no test the definitively find out who is what intelligence but the best way to find out how your students learn. There is no one who knows the students better than themselves. There are however many other outlets to find out about your students intelligences. One of the bigger ones is asking the parents. The students parents should know them better than anyone who isn’t the student themselves. Asking the parents to keep track of their students and relate them to the individual intelligences and then telling the teacher is a good outlet for finding out how they learn. It is also a good idea to look at the students grades records to see what type of classes they have done the best in. it is also a good idea to ask the students counselors to see how they learn. The book stresses however that the counselors may not be able to tell you anything as they are bound to certain discrepancy clauses.
Matt
In Chapter three I found a really interesting point, that I feel makes the entire chapter. The author states that “most students have strengths in several areas, so you should avoid pigeonholing a child into only one intelligence”(32). This makes so much sense to me, because I couldn’t agree more that a student’s brain should not be limited to a single strength, or even one weakness. If a Teacher were to do this I feel, it would really be detrimental to the students learning. I also feel it would put the student at a disadvantage in terms of his/her other classmates. Teachers need to make observations of each and every student on a regular basis so that they can begin, and continue to learn how they learn best.
Teaching kids is a very hard task as it is, but in chapter three I think I have learned some very great ideas to make it easier. I feel as if I now have better solutions to increase the learning of all students in a diverse classroom setting. Simply observation is number one for me, but is also the easiest in my mind. How should I observe all these kids though? It’s not and easy task for any teacher. This chapter also has a solution for this! Students who misbehave, and act out in class should most likely be your main concern. By closer tracking their actions I will be able to advance my knowledge of what learning styles are most helpful for them. I feel that I will be able to achieve all this most efficiently by keeping a small journal hidden away in my desk, so I can constantly record each student’s actions. I will also take advantage of every opportunity to talk with other teachers who may have the same students.
Meghan
The theme of multiple intelligences remains constant through all the years of schooling. It is important as a teacher to not shelter and limit students in any areas that they may succeed, whether that be in your specific content area of not. It is vitally important to constantly assess the abilities of students in multiple areas by constantly assessing all of the multiple intelligences. In the beginning of a class, teachers should keep a notebook or journal to keep track of areas where students might excel, or where they might lack some development. A good way to keep track of these intelligences is to collect documents from students. These can include photos, sketches, schoolwork, and video or audio samples. This can help show a teacher any sort of intelligences that might be evident outside of the classroom environment. Another way to do this is by looking as school records of students. Although grades do not ultimately determine ones abilities in any certain area, they might be able to show some weak points or strong points in the academic life of any student. Conversations will also be key to understanding the multiple intelligences of your students. Talking with other teachers might provide insight into strengths or weaknesses students might express in other content or subject areas. Also, talking with parents will allow the teacher to understand the strengths or weaknesses of students in their lives outside of school. Most importantly, talking with the students themselves will help you to understand them better, and will help to foster positive relationships.
Devin Boilard
Chapter Three: Describing Intelligences in Students I enjoy the practical nature of this chapter; it offers numerous real life methods to assist in implementing the teachings of this book. The personal nature of getting to know your students is significant in so many ways when it comes to teaching, how you go about collecting that data is not always as straight forward. The sheer amount of students teachers have acts as a barrier to achieving learner specific knowledge, in addition many learners might not consciously identify with their preferred intelligence, while some (those who register on the interpersonal scale) might not care to share their thoughts. In addition I thought the suggestion of going through individual students files and analyzing previous teachers reports (kindergarten in particular) was an original and resourceful idea. We as teachers are not alone, our colleagues act as sources of knowledge in so many ways and their experience with specific learners can be some of their most helpful knowledge to convey. The suggestion that I think I am the most apt to follow from this chapter is the one in regards to journal keeping. I understand the logistical task of keeping notes on 80+ students and applaud them for their realistic and honest outlook on even the ideas that they pose. I however find this approach so important that it outweighs any of the negatives that might come with it. Tracking the progress of a student is crucial to understanding the learner on so many fronts. We can track them through their work but this leaves out so many of the important visual cues that we encounter as well as the emotional ones. If a student starts to spiral downwards due to issues unrelated to the class I might not pick up on the initial signals, however if I track the student with journal entries I might notice a pattern after the second or third week. I hope that I will be able to come to some arrangement that allows time in my day to incorporate such an activity.
Tyler Michaud
The third chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, by Thomas Armstrong, focused on how to understand the actions of students and using them to understand their developed intelligences. One of Armstrong's beliefs is that there are many ways to develop an appreciation for the abilities of a student. By paying attention to the actions of a student the teacher may find hints into what their learning style may be. The author jokingly comments that by paying attention to the way that a student misbehaves can grant insight into their most developed intelligences; though he says it with humor, ultimately, it is a reliable tool that can be used to establish a base for your understanding. Armstrong does not believe that there is a “mega test” that can perfectly identify a person's learning style. However, he does believe that by using smaller, more focused, tests the results will be more accurate (as long as they are fair to all learning styles). Beyond the classroom, teachers can use parents, friends, and out-of-school activities to learn more about the students. All of the above information is relevant to the classroom. Having read this chapter, I have a better understanding of actions that I will witness in the classroom. For example, when a student acts out in class by doodling on the desk, they are not simply misbehaving, but showing signs of spatial intelligence; and as a teacher, it will be my responsibility to incorporate these learning styles into my plan too.
Tyler Brown
There seems to be a limitless amount of strategies teachers can use to discover what multiple intelligences are innate to their individual students. It was particularly interesting to think about how a kindergarten teacher might be one of the best sources of information for learning about your student’s MIs (p.40). I learned from this material that it is as important to understand how to detect MIs in individual students in the classroom as it is important to understand how to utilize that information once it is gathered. Rather than limit oneself to basic observations throughout the day’s lessons to detect MI’s, it is better to practice relying on a variety of different techniques that will help display the variety of strengths and weaknesses in your classroom. Discussions during parent-teacher conferences and discussions with teacher’s from other departments about individual students can help fortify your own understanding of how the student learns best. It will certainly have a positive impact on the classroom when a few students who are normally considered to be “low-functioning” or exhibit “bad behavior” are able to be engaged into the learning process instead of serving as a distraction.
Table of Contents
Cole Phillips
From a very early age, students develop inclinations toward specific learning styles through various forms of perceived intelligence, as posited by Gardner. It is our job as teachers to be insightful and perceptive, understanding the wide array of concepts that comprise learning styles, and we are frequently without means of formally assessing such styles. Especially at a young age, students may or may not be capable of conveying, in any way, what works or does not work for them in the classroom. It is our job, as a result, to understand exactly what is that works best for these students, through the most apparent means, and to apply these learning styles to the curriculum.
Choice is enormous. Offering a variety of instruction does not come without invariable consequence, but is hugely important to be open. A teacher has means of discovering what choices are or are not necessary through investigation, as well. Choice will always be a vague word, but whether through seeking out student records, talking with parents, other teachers, or the students themselves, we can come to learn a lot with a little. More creative means exist through the graces of classroom allowance, and our ability to set up specialized activities and curricula that cater to our thirst for discovering our students’ truest needs and desires.
Cheyenne
This chapter is all about how you, as a teacher, can describe a student’s most developed intelligences. This will allow a student’s learning in school to take place through their preferred intelligences. However, this being said, it is also important not to “pigeon-hole” a student into one intelligence, this is because most students have strengths in multiple areas. Towards the beginning of the chapter it mentioned keeping a notebook or journal to write down observations of your students’ learning techniques. There is no “megatest”, as the book described it, that provides a comprehensive survey of your students, however a formal test could be useful in determining their intelligences. Many tips were given as means to figuring out a student’s intelligences, they include looking at school records, talking to parents or other teachers, setting up activities, and asking the students. The chapter brought up misbehavior too, and how they could be more of a cry for help than a means of getting attention. Students want to learn in a way that they are comfortable with and they will do so. I need to make sure I fully understand this and need to learn how to tell the difference between a student acting out because they are trying to learn in a way they are comfortable and a student acting out for attention. Keeping a journal was a pretty good tip that I think I will find to be very useful. I don’t want to punish a student who is really just trying to learn in a way they feel more comfortable learning, but I also don’t want my other students distracted by another student’s behavior.Russell Warren
Similar to the first chapter of Professor Theresa Overall’s assigned book Fires in the Bathroom, the third chapter in this book dropped another ingenious way to better understand the students who make up my classroom. In Fires, it was suggested to allow students some time during the week to accumulate a personal response notebook, which would then allow me as the teacher to look over their strengths and struggles. Thomas Armstrong, in Multiple Intelligences, has suggested the teacher also keep a notebook to jot down small details or occurrences that could possibly aid in their understanding and the differentiation of their classroom. There are thousands of small things that students do that hint, or, in some cases scream, towards their specific multiple intelligences. Misbehavior is certainly the latter, and the concept has changed my way of approaching such situations. Before I understood that there are better ways to alleviate such times, but I never really thought that I could personally gain something position from students acting out. The students are acting out for a reason, saying “This is how I learn, teacher, and if you don’t teach me in a way that I most naturally learn, I’m going to do it anyway,” (p. 34) pleading for focus, attention, and a flexible course structure. Reading Multiple Intelligences, I realize that while I may become a teacher, I’ll never not be a student, and there is always something to learn from not only scholarly sources, but also even unsavory situations within the classroom. I have to look for every possible source for information, including past assessments and colleagues, and never stop learning.Ashley Libby
This chapter talked about ways to identify what multiple intelligence are the student’s strongest learning trait. It showed ways for teachers to know what each different intelligence might look like and what signs to look for in your students. It told teachers to observe students in not how the behavior regularly but also how the students misbehave; to look for the signs and see what they are trying to tell us non-verbally. Professor Evans told the class to be very mindful of what each student is doing. She used the example of a student using drugs to seek attention so that we, as teachers, could see that they need help and it is our job to listen. This situation works well with observing multiple intelligences because it is all about being mindful of what our students do. Students will tell us how they learn best but sometimes it can be taken as misbehavior and we just dismiss it as a troublesome child.
As a teacher I need to remember not to dismiss every child that seems to not follow the rules. I need to remember to think about why they are actually doing it and the way they go about it. I have to look at the signs and pay attention. Once I have figured out how my students learn, I have to make the adjustments accordingly so that each students gets the most out of my classroom. The chapter gave great ideas about how to identify the student’s intelligences. The author provides the reader with a checklist than can be done with those students that are struggling. This way you can get to the route of the problem quicker and have your students be successful in your classroom.
Ashley Godbout
This chapter shows how to observe and investigate the intelligences. It’s important to develop a sense of what the student’s individual intelligence preference is so that more of their learning can be done through the intelligence they favor. Since there is no magic, universal test to give each student to tell his or her preferred intelligence, simple observation can be done to assess this. The author has an interesting take on observation as he suggests observing how the students misbehave in the classroom. The students are doing this as a cry for help and are trying to tell their teacher “this is how I learn, please teach me this way or naturally I’m going to do it anyways.” Often times teachers get frustrated when students don’t act as they’d like them to but most often then not it’s for a good reason. This lesson has taught me that I need to be more patient when dealing with student interactions like this during class. It’s easy to send them to the office or give a detention but that’s not going to solve the problem. Until the teacher asks the student the reasoning for their actions or has the knowledge to assess why and act upon a possible solution, the student’s behavior will likely not change. Another interesting take is observing what students do in their free time. This is probably most obvious because when given the choice the student will act in ways they normally do. For example, activities like reading, playing games, and social interactions are all things students might automatically do because of their preferred intelligence. As a teacher, it’s important to be aware of ways to observe your students so problems can be addressed and fixed when they arise. It’s also good if a teacher tries a new approach and observes how this could positively affect a student.Christopher Vogel
Chapter three initiates with the discussion of finding a student’s strongest intelligence and basing the content around that intelligence. The book indicates that it may be easier to identify the strongest intelligence based on how a student misbehaves because it will be a “cry for help” in a manner that they are comfortable with. In addition to misbehavior, the book suggests seeing what students do during free time. From the reading I can see observing the student would be helpful in all areas based on watching what they choose to do. As a teacher I should be watching (in non-stalker manner) the after school activities they join, preferences for assigned homework, etc. The chapter encourages this by looking at grades, talking with other teachers or parents, and looking over the work the students have submitted. I think the biggest impact this chapter has on my classroom is to work on observation skills. This ties in with the theme of the class paying attention to all of our senses. By tailoring our classroom lectures and activities to each student’s favored intelligence, we can better educate different learning styles. I think that some of this observation of students is a little disconcerting. Looking over the checklist I would feel a little uncomfortable if my teacher noticed that I hum occasionally to myself or that I put my hands all over something I have just seen. I guess in terms of setting up the perfect learning environment could be worth it but it seems a little excessive.
Michael Diffin
Reading response multiple intelligences chapter 3The third chapter in the book Multiple Intelligences discusses a great deal of information relating to how we can find out and use our students multiple advantages to our advantage when developing our units and lessons. This chapter describes how it is possible to take these multiple intelligences and asses them in many ways to find out who learns best which way. The text stresses that there is no test the definitively find out who is what intelligence but the best way to find out how your students learn. There is no one who knows the students better than themselves. There are however many other outlets to find out about your students intelligences. One of the bigger ones is asking the parents. The students parents should know them better than anyone who isn’t the student themselves. Asking the parents to keep track of their students and relate them to the individual intelligences and then telling the teacher is a good outlet for finding out how they learn. It is also a good idea to look at the students grades records to see what type of classes they have done the best in. it is also a good idea to ask the students counselors to see how they learn. The book stresses however that the counselors may not be able to tell you anything as they are bound to certain discrepancy clauses.
Matt
In Chapter three I found a really interesting point, that I feel makes the entire chapter. The author states that “most students have strengths in several areas, so you should avoid pigeonholing a child into only one intelligence”(32). This makes so much sense to me, because I couldn’t agree more that a student’s brain should not be limited to a single strength, or even one weakness. If a Teacher were to do this I feel, it would really be detrimental to the students learning. I also feel it would put the student at a disadvantage in terms of his/her other classmates. Teachers need to make observations of each and every student on a regular basis so that they can begin, and continue to learn how they learn best.Teaching kids is a very hard task as it is, but in chapter three I think I have learned some very great ideas to make it easier. I feel as if I now have better solutions to increase the learning of all students in a diverse classroom setting. Simply observation is number one for me, but is also the easiest in my mind. How should I observe all these kids though? It’s not and easy task for any teacher. This chapter also has a solution for this! Students who misbehave, and act out in class should most likely be your main concern. By closer tracking their actions I will be able to advance my knowledge of what learning styles are most helpful for them. I feel that I will be able to achieve all this most efficiently by keeping a small journal hidden away in my desk, so I can constantly record each student’s actions. I will also take advantage of every opportunity to talk with other teachers who may have the same students.
Meghan
The theme of multiple intelligences remains constant through all the years of schooling. It is important as a teacher to not shelter and limit students in any areas that they may succeed, whether that be in your specific content area of not. It is vitally important to constantly assess the abilities of students in multiple areas by constantly assessing all of the multiple intelligences. In the beginning of a class, teachers should keep a notebook or journal to keep track of areas where students might excel, or where they might lack some development. A good way to keep track of these intelligences is to collect documents from students. These can include photos, sketches, schoolwork, and video or audio samples. This can help show a teacher any sort of intelligences that might be evident outside of the classroom environment. Another way to do this is by looking as school records of students. Although grades do not ultimately determine ones abilities in any certain area, they might be able to show some weak points or strong points in the academic life of any student. Conversations will also be key to understanding the multiple intelligences of your students. Talking with other teachers might provide insight into strengths or weaknesses students might express in other content or subject areas. Also, talking with parents will allow the teacher to understand the strengths or weaknesses of students in their lives outside of school. Most importantly, talking with the students themselves will help you to understand them better, and will help to foster positive relationships.
Devin Boilard
Chapter Three: Describing Intelligences in StudentsI enjoy the practical nature of this chapter; it offers numerous real life methods to assist in implementing the teachings of this book. The personal nature of getting to know your students is significant in so many ways when it comes to teaching, how you go about collecting that data is not always as straight forward. The sheer amount of students teachers have acts as a barrier to achieving learner specific knowledge, in addition many learners might not consciously identify with their preferred intelligence, while some (those who register on the interpersonal scale) might not care to share their thoughts. In addition I thought the suggestion of going through individual students files and analyzing previous teachers reports (kindergarten in particular) was an original and resourceful idea. We as teachers are not alone, our colleagues act as sources of knowledge in so many ways and their experience with specific learners can be some of their most helpful knowledge to convey.
The suggestion that I think I am the most apt to follow from this chapter is the one in regards to journal keeping. I understand the logistical task of keeping notes on 80+ students and applaud them for their realistic and honest outlook on even the ideas that they pose. I however find this approach so important that it outweighs any of the negatives that might come with it. Tracking the progress of a student is crucial to understanding the learner on so many fronts. We can track them through their work but this leaves out so many of the important visual cues that we encounter as well as the emotional ones. If a student starts to spiral downwards due to issues unrelated to the class I might not pick up on the initial signals, however if I track the student with journal entries I might notice a pattern after the second or third week. I hope that I will be able to come to some arrangement that allows time in my day to incorporate such an activity.
Tyler Michaud
The third chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, by Thomas Armstrong, focused on how to understand the actions of students and using them to understand their developed intelligences. One of Armstrong's beliefs is that there are many ways to develop an appreciation for the abilities of a student. By paying attention to the actions of a student the teacher may find hints into what their learning style may be. The author jokingly comments that by paying attention to the way that a student misbehaves can grant insight into their most developed intelligences; though he says it with humor, ultimately, it is a reliable tool that can be used to establish a base for your understanding. Armstrong does not believe that there is a “mega test” that can perfectly identify a person's learning style. However, he does believe that by using smaller, more focused, tests the results will be more accurate (as long as they are fair to all learning styles). Beyond the classroom, teachers can use parents, friends, and out-of-school activities to learn more about the students.All of the above information is relevant to the classroom. Having read this chapter, I have a better understanding of actions that I will witness in the classroom. For example, when a student acts out in class by doodling on the desk, they are not simply misbehaving, but showing signs of spatial intelligence; and as a teacher, it will be my responsibility to incorporate these learning styles into my plan too.
Tyler Brown
There seems to be a limitless amount of strategies teachers can use to discover what multiple intelligences are innate to their individual students. It was particularly interesting to think about how a kindergarten teacher might be one of the best sources of information for learning about your student’s MIs (p.40). I learned from this material that it is as important to understand how to detect MIs in individual students in the classroom as it is important to understand how to utilize that information once it is gathered. Rather than limit oneself to basic observations throughout the day’s lessons to detect MI’s, it is better to practice relying on a variety of different techniques that will help display the variety of strengths and weaknesses in your classroom. Discussions during parent-teacher conferences and discussions with teacher’s from other departments about individual students can help fortify your own understanding of how the student learns best. It will certainly have a positive impact on the classroom when a few students who are normally considered to be “low-functioning” or exhibit “bad behavior” are able to be engaged into the learning process instead of serving as a distraction.